The fabric strap is an important article in the garment industry, where technique innovation has brought about generations of updated products. Particularly, such advance has greatly improved the design for visual effects with respect to graphic patterns, colors, and post-fabrication modifications. In contrast to the advance in visual designs, however, no significant progress has been made in terms of structure and functionality of the fabric strap. Mostly, the fabric strap stays in the form which is uniform in thickness and in width, which cannot generally meet users' need for comfortableness in wearing the undergarment. Taking the shoulder strap in female underwear for example, the shoulders are typically under a greater stress caused by the strap when the underwear is worn. The shoulder strap should be wider, thicker and softer in the section or segment which is in contact with the shoulder. On the other hand, for the segment in contact with the chest and the back, there is a lower stress exerted on the strap and thus the strap should be lighter and thinner, which would be aesthetically more pleasing and also make the sewing process easier. Taking the waist belt for another example, both the sides of the waist bear a higher stress, especially in people with overweight, and can easily generate red imprinted marks on the skin. Some prior effort has been made to solve the problem. For example, Chinese Patent No. 200520053900.9 disclosed a fabric strap which is a woven fabric comprising a segment which is a tubular structure. At such segment, there is provided a lateral penning through which soft loose fillers can be inserted into the segment and, to prevent the fillers entering other parts of the strap, the segment is provided with closure means at both ends. While such a strap has a segment stuffed with soft filler at the places where softness is desired to relieve the stress exerted on the skin, the solution is time-consuming and thus increases the cost of the production. Furthermore, it also produces inferior visual effects.
Another effort is also known, which provides a fabric strap with varied width, that is, having a segment which is wider than other segments and such wider segment corresponds to an area which exerts greater stress on the user, such as in the shoulder area. However, for such strap to be made in a single integral woven process, the width is generally correlating to the longitudinal elasticity, i.e., the wider the segment is, the greater the elasticity is. This property is undesirable because for the strap used in the undergarment, the segment in contact with the shoulder, for example, needs a wider width to relieve the stress exerted on the shoulder but it should also need a lower elasticity so that it can sufficiently sustain the weight of the breasts. To address this problem, a frequently used method is to connect (usually by sewing) a wider segment of a lower elasticity with narrower segments of higher elasticity, instead of making it in single integral woven process. Obviously, such method complicates the production processes and is unsuitable for automation, resulting in a reduced production efficiency. In addition, the sewing seams between the connected segments can cause skin allergies, red imprints, or uncomfortable feel, due to the friction between them and the skin.